Skirmish
by Dizzydodo
Summary: Rated T for violence. AU. Spoilers for ME3 Shepard takes Thane's place in a key battle and is severely injured, causing Thane to re-evaluate some of his decisions.


Fixed a few typos. :)

* * *

Thane watched from the balcony as Shepard escorted the Salarian about his rounds there was no discernible reason to worry, she had a full escort and he knew she was never unarmed but he still had the nagging feeling of something out of place. He scanned the catwalks and examined the face of every person present, watching for any sudden motion but the envoy passed undisturbed through the crowds. Shepard was clearly on her guard, but he could see that even she relaxed once they had cleared the dense press of people.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a bright, piercing flash and turned to examine it more closely. His blood ran cold, he knew that face.

_Darkness falling, the air is frigid and the smell of death hangs in the air. Their bodies lie twisted in unnatural positions; he stands over them, moonlight glinting on a bloodied blade._

Thane snapped out of his reverie; it had only been a matter of seconds, Kai leng's sword had not yet cleared its sheath and he had only just begun to move through the masses.

"Shepard!" He called. She glanced up to see him gesture to Leng and drew her gun in a practiced motion as the people scattered, desperate not to be caught in the crossfire. Thane started forward, but then doubled up coughing, his legs giving out so that he slumped to his knees, a frisson of fear darting up his spine as Leng moved toward her.

Shepard fired and he dodged, cutting in close to knock the weapon from her hands; she staggered back a step, righting herself and assuming a fighting stance while blocking Leng's path to his target. Her crew watched in mute horror as he danced in range of her, thrusting viciously while she twisted to avoid him, moving forward to bring him into close quarter combat. He would have none of it, twisting with her and regaining his distance for a horizontal swipe that cut a long gouge in her armor. Thankfully it did not penetrate.

Thane gathered himself for another attempt, frustrated that her team had not interfered. Perhaps panic had taken them, but someone had to step in. Kai Leng was a true professional and he would not permit her to stand between him and the mark for long. As Thane bolted down the stairs, Kai Leng pressed his advantage, forcing Shepard on the defensive as she sought to parry his strikes by any means possible, cut off from her fallen gun by Leng's wickedly sharp blade.

Thane was close enough to see her face narrow determinedly as she glanced at her gun again; she was going to try for it. He would have cried out a warning, but it caught in his throat as he gasped for breath.

Faster than the eye could see, Leng drew a smaller knife and darted in to sink it deep into Shepard's side, just under her elbow. Shepard gave a gasping gargle as she fell, stretching her arm toward her gun as she held the other clasped at her bloody side.

Kai Leng caught Thane's eyes as he ran after the councilor's retinue, giving him a twisted smile as he ran. This seemed to shock the team out of their stupor and Garrus gave chase after a questioningly concerned look to Thane.

Thane nodded mechanically as he sank to his knees beside Shepard. "I can't believe it; that bastard got the drop on me." She wheezed.

Thane turned her gently, moving her arm so that he could examine the wound more carefully. What he saw did not give him much hope, in such a short space of time she had lost entirely too much blood. Once again Thane found himself consumed by memories even as he whispered soothing words, staunching the flow of blood.

_Blood pooled in patches on the floor, leaving dark stains that he can just make out in the evening light. Her dress bears the stains too, the fabric soaked in blood. He kneels to cradle her body in his arms, holding her to him_.

"Thane." He awoke, found that he was rocking her gently; the medical staff was fast approaching with a stretcher and he could hear an alarm sounding somewhere in the distance.

"Thane, I'll be alright." She smiled weakly and he mustered a weak smile in return, "of course, Siha." Shepard nodded, a gasp of pain slipped from her and her head fell back as she mercifully lost consciousness.

The medics were brisk but gentle, patiently arranging her so that they would not jostle the wound. Thane watched with seeming impassiveness, but inside he knew this would become another of his most haunting nightmares.

The flash of her eyes when she perceived the threat, her silent scream when the blade pierced her flesh and every line of agony he could trace on her face as she tried to comfort him for his failure.

Thane moved aside to let the medics pass, following at a careful distance, determined that he would not be separated from her again yet not wishing to interfere with her caregivers.

Yes, this was his doing. If he'd been faster or stronger, if the Kepral's syndrome wasn't so far advanced, he could have dealt with Leng easily and she would even now be on her way to another boring debriefing, taking notes so that she could regale him later with tales of equal parts victory and defeat over a glass of wine.

What galled him was that he had chosen this; he had chosen not to have the lung transplant, convinced it was better that another should live. Today's event had shown him that he was the only one capable of protecting her; there simply was no other up to the task and he could not choose death for both of them.

There was no other choice, then. If she survived, he would accept the transplant for her sake. For a moment, Thane's face contorted in what could only be called fury, staff and nurses skittered out of his way, leaving a clear path for him to follow.

Woe betide the fool that thought to harm her.

More than anything he wanted to stay by her side and guard her against her foe's return but the nurses proved unsympathetic, insisting that he should return to his own bed, that after so much excitement what he most needed was rest.

They were wrong; what he most needed was beyond his reach at the moment, stretched out on an examination table as they carefully pieced her back together. The damage was fortunately localized in one small area, unfortunately the blade had caught part of the bone and it was hours before they had removed every last splinter.

In that time Garrus returned with the news that Kai Leng had escaped, as Thane had expected. Garrus was a skilled fighter, but Leng was a separate class of killer, one that gloried in his work; being caught would mean an end to his usefulness so of course he must not be caught.

Garrus lingered for a time, trying to banter but distracted by the sight of his commander in such a helpless state; seeing Thane's preoccupied stare and the disapproving glares of the staff directed at both of them he eventually excused himself, requesting that he be notified the moment she regained consciousness. Thane absentmindedly assured him he would see to it before turning back to commit every detail of the scene to memory; he must never forget what he had very nearly lost today.

Eventually the doctor emerged to assure him that all was well; Shepard would recover, but must restrict herself to a limited amount of activity for up to a week. To remind her of this fact, they had sutured the wound rather than using a faster method. One of the nurses chided him for waiting so long, Thane bowed respectfully before moving past her to accompany Shepard to wherever they intended to move her; she would not wake alone.

* * *

It was evening when Shepard finally woke and as she attempted to sit up, she could feel the pull of stitches; someone leaned over the side of her bed to take her shoulders and hold her down, his grip was impossibly tender but firm nonetheless, brooking no disagreement. Thane. For a moment or two she had thought she would never see him again and that thought was more terrifying than it should have been.

"Siha, forgive me." His voice was softly resonant and tinged with remorse. "For what?" She whispered.

"I gave you my word that I would serve with you until my days had ended, yet when you needed me most I was not there. Please forgive me."

Shepard shook her head, "No one could have known this would happen. There's nothing you could have done even if you had come with me, I don't want you hurt either." She clasped his hand in hers, bringing it to her cheek' "You don't need to ask my forgiveness. I'm just glad it wasn't you."

She kissed his hand softly and dropped it, trembling from the effort of even that much motion, she had the feeling he noticed.

Thane leaned toward her, "I could have done more had I not been ill."

"Precisely." Shepard agreed and Thane nodded. "I will accept the transplant. I will see you to the end of this battle alive and victorious." He leaned forward to press a desperate kiss to her lips and she tasted the salt of tears as well as the sweet toxin that caused her to relax still further.

"Hmm. You and me, alive and victorious. I like that idea." Her words were slurring and she couldn't hardly make sense of them, exhaustion and painkillers were finally overpowering her again.

"Sleep well, Siha. I will be here when you wake." She drifted off into a peaceful sleep, confident now that he would never willingly leave her.


End file.
